Danger in the sky: 2 Israeli planes too close for comfort during Independence Day flyover

The footage captured by two amateur photographers on Israel’s 69th Independence Day shows the serious safety incident involving two aircraft that occurred during the flyover. In the footage, the wings of the aircraft are clearly seen grazing each other in a manner that could have caused the planes to crash.

After it was reported that a serious safety incident occurred on Israel’s 69th Independence Day when two Super Hercules transport aircraft got dangerously close to each other during the traditional flyover, the footage of the incident was revealed this evening (Tuesday). The incident occurred above the Mediterranean Sea off the shore of Tel Aviv while thousands of Israelis watched the show from below. Luckily, no one was injured.

Two amateur photographers captured the incident involving the aircraft, which are called Shimshon planes in Israel, with their cameras. In the footage, the planes’ wings are seen grazing each other. The distance between the two planes was supposed to be no less than four meters and such an incident could have caused the new planes, which arrived recently from the U.S., to crash.

Photo Credit: Ziv Sokolov/Channel 2 News

In light of the incident, the two captains were sent to a few days in a military prison and the crew members of the aircraft were grounded. In addition, new formation flying procedures have been implemented in order to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.